


Too Little Too Late

by jongsoon



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, Angst, Barista Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun, F/M, Office Worker Moon Taeil, Office Worker Seo Youngho | Johnny, Tragic Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-20 19:23:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20233090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jongsoon/pseuds/jongsoon
Summary: One thing that Taeil was sure of, he wasn't ready for another heartbreak. But does it worth the wait?





	Too Little Too Late

**Author's Note:**

> I used (Y/N) for the main female character name. However, I feel more comfortable addressing her as 'she' instead of 'you'.

Taeil sped up his steps as the rainshower getting more intense. His hands above his head slowly became useless to protect him from the rain. He regretted lending his umbrella to Johnny on the other day and the guy had always been forgetful to return it back to him.  
  
The bus stop seemed to be farther than usual that he decided to give up and get himself covered. He run his fingers through his hair, trying to sweep the raindrops off of his hair. He looked around to realize the place behind his back was actually a small café.  
  
He pulled up his sleeve to check on his watch. 8 PM. Yet the rain didn't seem to end anytime soon and risking himself going through the rain wasn't a better option either since he has an important meeting on the next day. He glanced back at the café. Its huge glass window made it easy for him to see the inside. The yellowish light and the light smokes coming from coffee machine made the place looked warm. There were only a few people, which was great to him who dislikes crowd at the first place. After taking a quick scan at the menu board behind the counter, he made his way there.  
  
"Hi! What would you like to order?" a young lady, probably around his age, greeted him cheerfully.  
  
Taeil was stunned for a moment, composing himself back from the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. He felt stupid questioning himself whether that was how love at the first sight feels like.   
  
"I- uh..." he distracted himself by looking at the menu board above, pretending to check the menu again. His fingers tapping on the counter nervously.   
  
"We have it here too for your convenience." She offered him the menu on the counter. Her friendly smile was still there without the intention to make Taeil embarrassed.  
  
He let out an awkward laugh. "Sorry, I didn't see it," he replied as he took the menu and read it for real that time.  
  
"One hot chocolate with extra whipped cream, please." He looked up to see her smile turned into a small giggle she tried to hide. He frowned in confusion.   
  
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. I thought you're just another americano guy. Good choice to choose our chocolate. It's my personal favorite here!" she clarified as she tapped on the cashier screen to input his order.   
  
Taeil laughed along, "I thought I said anything weird."  
  
"Would you like to have it here or take away?"  
  
"Here, please." He handed her his card.   
  
She looked back at him again. "Anything else?"  
  
Taeil scanned the bakery display next to the counter. The rows of cakes and sandwiches tempted his growling stomach. "I'll have one cinnamon roll too, then."  
  
"We will serve it to your table. Thank you." She tore the receipt off of the printer and handed it to him along with his card.  
  
Taeil took a seat by the window. He continued tapping his fingers on the wooden table, nervous for nothing. Once in a while, he couldn't help to steal glances towards the counter, watching her heating up the cinnamon roll as another guy probably was making his hot chocolate. They were chitchatting, still keeping their voice low not to disturb the customers. He saw her laugh from whatever the guy told her.  
  
Taeil sighed. The guy was extremely handsome that he wondered why he was behind the counter instead of the runway. He shrugged the thought of that guy being her boyfriend and looked away.  
  
He was replying Johnny's messages later when the lady came with his orders on the tray.  
  
"Thank you..," he paused for a moment to look at the name tag on her apron. "(Y/N)."  
  
She was obviously taken aback, but still managed to politely smile at him after realizing he was just reading her name tag. "You're welcome..?" she signaled him to complete her sentence.   
  
"Taeil," he answered, smiling ear to ear.  
  
"Nice to meet you, Taeil. Hope you enjoy the meal." She slightly bowed and left.  
  
Taeil had no idea whether it's the hot chocolate or her that made him addicted as he became the café's regular customer after since. He could visit two to three times a week, not caring that he might go over budget from it. Taeil and her casually chitchat once in a while when there's not many customers around, but she would definitely ask about his day whenever she's the one taking his orders. For a moment, it really felt good to have someone who cared about him. Her eyes gleamed everytime she did that, assuring him that she really did want to hear from him, not merely the staff-kind of friendly.   
  
His new routine forced him to make up excuses whenever Johnny invited him for a dinner after work. Unfortunately he wasn't that good in keeping secrets that within a few weeks his best friend found out about what he had been up to.   
  
Taeil once brought him to the café, so that she could meet "another americano guy" for real.  
  
"I think she likes you too," he concluded as he took a sip of his iced americano. Johnny purposefully flirted with her at the counter, but his attempt was a big failure, leaving a deep wound in his entire flirting history. "She didn't bother when I flirted with her since her gaze was definitely stuck on you."   
  
Taeil snorted, "That handsome barista might be her boyfriend. I've been observing them, too close to be just friends."  
  
Johnny followed his gaze towards the counter. "Have you ever asked her?"   
  
"Well, isn't it impossible for a girl as beautiful as her not having a boyfriend?"   
  
Johnny rolled his eyes knowing that it's just the other way of Taeil saying no in order to save his pride. "Damn it, Tael. How long has it been again? A month? And you even have no idea whether she has a boyfriend or not? Gosh."   
  
"I'm not ready for another heartbreak."   
  
"Do you have her number?"   
  
Taeil shook his head.   
  
"Holy. Should I get it for you now?"   
  
"You said she didn't bother earlier, but you expect her to give you her number?" Taeil furrowed his eyebrows.   
  
Johnny ran his fingers through his hair and pulled it lightly in frustration. "Then fucking ask her yourself! I've told you she likes you too!"   
  
"Let it remain this way for a little while as I prepare myself for the worst," he sighed.   
  
Johnny shrugged. "Well, I can't force you. But just so you know that she might not be able to wait any longer and just slip off of your fingers right before your eyes."  
  
He then wondered whether it's a curse or Johnny could actually predict the future. It had been almost two weeks that he hadn't seen her behind the counter. A new guy which he learnt to be named Winwin usually took his orders since she was gone.  
  
It was quite late that day, just an hour before their closing time. There was just a man doing his work on his laptop at the corner. Jaehyun, the handsome barista, was the one taking his order since Winwin was busy cleaning the tables when he walked in. It had been a while after the last time he saw Jaehyun at the café as well. He looked weary, but his handsomeness couldn't be hidden, that even Taeil, as a man, admitted that his level of handsomeness was beyond.   
  
She might remember Taeil as their regular customer, but Jaehyun might not since they rarely interact directly.   
  
"One hot chocolate with extra whipped cream, please."   
  
Jaehyun's smile vanished after he heard his order, as if he just realized something. He continued inputting his order while trying to keep his calm.   
  
"Anything else?" a forced smile grew across his face.   
  
"Uh... May I ask something?" Taeil's hesitancy resonated nervousness towards Jaehyun. He replied with a weak nod. "I haven't seen (Y/N) for a while already. Does she still work here?"   
  
Jaehyun choked realizing the worst had come. He peeked over Taeil's shoulder to check the queue behind him.   
  
"Do you mind if we talk after I finish taking the orders?"   
  
His question confused Taeil since he was actually expecting a simple yes or no, maybe with a short reasoning. However, he still nodded in reply before finishing the transaction and moving to his favorite table where she usually approached him for a short conversation.   
  
Around ten minutes later Jaehyun joined him, apron off, holding Taeil's hot chocolate in one hand and a small envelope in his other hand.  
  
"Thank you." Taeil couldn't help to be nervous from the sudden change of atmosphere once Jaehyun sat across him.   
  
"I don't know where to start." Jaehyun bit his lower lip, gaze shifted back and forth from Taeil to his fidgety hands on the table.   
  
Taeil's smile vanished. His feeling told him something wasn't right. He could just sense it.   
  
"You're the only one who always order hot chocolate with extra whipped cream. That's how I know it's you. And I'm glad that I was the one taking your order today, or else I have no idea how to reach you."   
  
The sudden flow of information was overwhelming and none could fit into the puzzle Taeil was doing in his mind. "What are you talking about?"   
  
Jaehyun shifted on his seat to take his wallet out of his jeans pocket. He pulled out a small bright yellow piece of folded post it and slid it on the table towards Taeil.   
  
"She had this on her vanity's mirror," told Jaehyun.   
  
The word 'vanity' gave Taeil a slight electric shock. Jaehyun must be her boyfriend for real as it's totally impossible for casual friend to have access to a girl's vanity.   
  
He picked up the piece of paper and opened it.   
  
**_Hot chocolate with extra whipped cream, please! ❤️ T_**  
  
He gulped. The more information he obtained, he more confused he got as he didn't expect Jaehyun's explanation would be that complex.   
  
Taeil let out a nervous laugh. In fact, he started to get worried that Jaehyun would confront him for being too close to her. "Okay, enough with these all. Can you go straight to the point? I'm totally lost."  
  
Jaehyun inhaled deeply as he pinched the bridge of his nose while closing his eyes for a moment. "I'm sorry, Taeil. She's not working here anymore," he paused as he took another deep breath before he delivered the next information. "She passed away two weeks ago."   
  
Blood vanished from beneath the skin of Taeil's face as he turned pale. His eyes couldn't blink as he stared blankly at Jaehyun whose head was then hung low, hands clasped, trying his best to hold himself together. "She... she what?"  
  
"You heard it correctly, Taeil. I don't want those words to come out of my mouth again."   
  
Silence wrapped the two guys. Taeil pressed his lips together as his hand squeezed his jaw in frustration. Teardrops escaped his eyes, slowly before it turned into streams. It felt like his heart crumpled and stopped beating as Jaehyun's words echoed in his head over and over again. His other hand balled into a fist and hit his thigh underneath the table as hard as he could, wishing he couldn't feel the pain and it's all nothing but another nightmare.   
  
"She got hit by a speeding car, just outside, after closing the café. The driver was drunk," informed Jaehyun, almost inaudible as he choked on his tears, bringing back Taeil into reality. "I had to leave earlier during that day. Maybe it wouldn't happen if that night she went home with me as usual."  
  
Jaehyun then slid the lavender-colored envelope he had brought earlier towards him. "She has this in her bag."  
  
A beautiful hand writing could be seen in purple ink.   
  
_To: Moon Taeil ❤️_  
  
His heart sunk just by that. He had no strength to open the letter and read everything she wrote inside.   
  
He put the letter on the table and covered his face as the sadness kicked in again. He took a moment before he managed to gather himself back and took the letter out of the envelope.   
  
_Dear my brightest moon, Moon Taeil. _  
  
_I know I might sound cheesy to begin with, but I don't care. I just want to let you know that I'm really glad I met you, or more like I'm thankful that the universe worked it out for us to be destined meeting each other. The days at the café have not been boring after since you started to visit us regularly. I always look forward each day for you to come and show me that beautiful smile of yours as you order your very own hot chocolate with extra whipped cream. All of those small talks we had, I truly enjoyed it as if we're just that longtime bestfriends who haven't met each other for years. Your chuckles give me warmth, maybe better than your hot chocolate with extra whipped cream to you. _  
  
Taeil paused for a moment, couldn't help to smile between his tears.   
  
_I can't stop thinking about you after the very first time we met. There is just something special about you, that smile of yours, and that gaze when we talk, although sometimes it could only be a small exchange of greetings. I really feel comfortable with you and I would like to spend more time with you. I just feel like I have to let you know how special you are to me._  
  
_I'm sorry if this might make you uncomfortable in a way, but whatever might result after this, I hope it will not change our friendship if you think it's not possible for us to move forward. _  
  
_ I'm officially falling for you, Moon Taeil. I love you._

_From your not-so-secret admirer, _

_\- (Y/N) - _

  
Taeil pressed his lips together. Hiding his tears was useless at that point. He just let them streamed down his face as he looked down, raining tears onto his lap.   
  
It was too late for him to let her know that he loved her too since the very first day, that she made him comfortable as ever, that her beautiful smile healed him, that he, not only wanted to spend more time with her, but wished to spend the rest of his life with her. 

  
But it was too late, just as what Johnny had told him. She couldn't wait any longer for real. She just slipped off of his hand before his eyes.   
  
She had to go, forever.   
  
"I can't imagine how heartbroken you're feeling right now, Taeil." Jaehyun broke the silence. He took his hand and squeezed it as he tried to smile. "I believe you're a good man. It must have been great if I were able to have you as my brother in law."   
  
Taeil couldn't hide his surprise. "Wait... what?"   
  
Jaehyun grinned between his own tears. "Brother in law. She's my older sister." 


End file.
